Sri Lanka: Army cautions people against 'troops about to cause violence' speculation

Colombo [Sri Lanka], April 17 : The Sri Lankan Army has issued a statement urging the people to not be duped by malicious and misleading media reports that the troops are about to "cause violence in the ongoing protest", local media reported.
"As evident in the past few days, different elements and groups with vested interests are poised to insult the troops and speculate alleging that the troops are about to cause violence, under training to assault, etc. which are completely false, fabricated and baseless," the statement said.
The Army pointed out that certain parties are giving misleading and concocted interpretations and also propagating baseless and provocative allegations which are tarnishing the Army's reputation, Colombo Page reported.
Dismissing the "corruption in a hospital" reports, Army said, "Those malicious reports, largely in the cyberspace, which also speak of corruption in a hospital due to their mere ignorance and lack of knowledge of Army tender procedures and well-structured and stipulated Advisory Boards of the Army claim that the organization has resorted to corruption in a hospital, a ridiculous allegation which is rejected outright by the Army as appalling and irrational."
Notably, the Army has never been involved in any of the protests that took place in the island nation, reported Colombo Page.
According to the statement, the Army pointed out that they have never acted against the interest of the state as the disciplined member of the country have always tried to bring peace to the country through their valuable sacrifices.
The Army urged the citizens to have full confidence in the troops as has been in the past because current serving troops remain more trained, professionally qualified, and well-suited to take on any security challenge, in this scenario, only if the Police call us to assist them.